Great new music from independent labels and artists all around the world

Some excellent new music again this week, mostly from the USA and the UK with a timely intervention from Jamaica.The show was recorded a few hours early this week as I’m off to London to see Jessie before she heads off to Ibiza and we’ll almost certainly check out the Get Wanted night at Mother Bar in Shoreditch, London this evening. I’ll report back next week.Despite this morning’s grey sky it still feels good to look out into the treetops from the barn window.X-Offender – Liquor Box (Encino, CA, USA)What happens when a group of musically trained Southern California, self-confessed brats, get together to blast out big guitar driven rock? Hmmm… fun? Yes. Volume? Yes. Energy? Yes. Intensity? Yes. Irreverence? You bet.They sounded great and started playing parties to make extra money. A girl named Mary saw many shows and it turned out she was a classically trained pianist and sometime singer.  She was invited to play and has participated on and off ever since.In 2008 they decided to make a record, scraped up the money themselves, and went into Electropolis Studios in North Hollywood California to knock it out. The result is Guilty Treasures, which accurately captures the whole point of the band and the record, that is: great songs, pure fun to play and listen to, with style, wit, and power, by musicians who can really play.They"’re still playing clubs and shows whenever possible, still in various bands, and who knows what will happen with Guilty Treasures, but for now, they’re just playing hard and having fun.Ty Webb:  Lead Vocals, GuitarsMorgan Stanley:  Lead Guitar, Backing VocalsMary Lynch:  Keyboards, VocalsGuy Gadois:  Drums, Percussion, Backing VocalsDick Standen:  Bass Guitarwww.quasimusic.vpweb.comBallad of a boy racer – Catgut (Guildford, UK)Always good news when a new Catgut release becomes available.Catgut is Owen Davey, a 22 year old Englishman. Described by Time Out magazine as a bedroom producer of "stunningly croaky low-fi tunes", he has written and recorded seven albums over the past five years. I"ve been playing him since the early days of Suffolk’n’Cool 3 years ago.Ballad of a boy racer is from his new EP Loop Nostalgia. Catgut is currently working with musicians Martin Ormand and Greg Snowdon in creating a live alternative to his online output.That should be really interesting.www.littlecatgut.comwww.myspace.com/catgutmusicBlind to You – Scott Brunger (Maidstone, UK)"I’m trying to be a folk songwriter, my lyrics are blunt and to the point and I try to display as much emotion in my songs as possible. I write about my life."Scott Brunger – Acoustic Guitar/VocalsJay Brunger – Bass and Backing VocalsPaul Jobson – DrumsTony Brunger – Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals.www.scottbrunger.comwww.myspace.com/scottbrunger3,000 Lines of Defense – Geri X (St Petersburg, FL, USA)Bulgarian-born Florida resident, Geri X, is classically trained on piano & guitar. Her writing, equal parts pleasure and pain, is as riveting & haunting as it is emotional & uplifting. Timeless & contemporary, her eclectic American post-folk sounds like it learned about love and heartbreak somewhere unfathomably older than here. For fans of Jeff Buckley, Fiona Apple, KT Tunstall, Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush, Brandi Carlile, Johnny Cash. This is the first track is from her album Anthems of a Mended Heart on the 24 hour petrol station label.A fantastic song that highlights everything that is so great about her voice, music, song writing, and orchestration (2 guitars and a drum). It is some sort of anti war song, but it may be about relationships too. Hard to tell. But there is this vaguely Baltic guitar rhythm that runs straight through and a mandolin-like sound that flutters around in counterpoint to her alternating firm and wandering voice. Beautifully evocative and powerful. www.GeriXMusic.comwww.myspace.com/gerix

Geri X, Geri X "3,000 Lines of Defense" (mp3) from "Anthems of a Mended Heart – LIMITED" (24 Hour Service Station) Stream from Rhapsody Buy at mTraks Buy at Rhapsody More On This Album

Don’t call her baby – Kitten Cake (London, UK)Kitten Cake formed in November 2008 when James Stone (Bass), James Persaud (Lead Guitar) and Guy Cullen (Drums) decided that a reinvention of their band, Bowling Green Heroes, was neeeded. Candice Joyce (Vocals & Guitar) was drafted in, and Kitten Cake was born (or placed in the oven at Gas Mark 5 for 25 minutes). Kitten Cake have a distinctive bluesy indie sound: Stone and Joyce write the recipes, Persaud adds more than just a dash of deliciousness while Guy provides the banging great taste that is Kitten Cake.Join the Kitten Cake Facebook Group for updates and notifications of upcoming gigs.www.myspace.com/kittencakebandMuseum of Modern Art have a great ad. Thake a look.www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/37This is real – Bert Jerred (Oswego, USA)Based in New York State way up on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.  This is real is taken from his newest album Ransom. A quite remarkable album which reminds me a little of Dudley Saunders’ vocal tone and of some of Springsteen’s more authentic moments except that here we have 16 tracks of gut wrenching reality. The album and a load more is available through Jamendo.www.myspace.com/bertjerredwww.jamendo.com/en/artist/bert_jerredGalis Caliba – Cashbook Clique (Portland, Jamaica)From the album Ghetto Genesis Vol 2 from Street Dream records. Street Dream Records was born on December 10th 2008. This record label was the brainchild of Dwayne Valentine an avid lover of reggae and hip Hop Music. Along with partners Andrew "Binlaw” Suckragh and Ricardo "Scaf B.K.A. Scaffle” White the signature sound for the label (a perfect blend of Hip Hop and Dancehall Reggae) was created. It certainly is an interesting blend.The first release for the label "Ghetto Genesis” which is being distributed on CD Baby.com comprises songs relating to love, heartbreak, social commentary and the signature track for the album, which is viewed by the three as the "Anthem” aptly titled "Dreaming" (The Street Dream Anthem.) www.myspace.com/cashbookhttp://cdbaby.com/cd/streetdreamingTo hell with love – Di Anne Price & her Boyfriends (Memphis, TN, USA)From her album The Best Price on the Locobop label.Memphis pianist-vocalist Di Anne Price channels the spirit of classic blues divas Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Stippie Wallace, and Memphis Minnie. Di Anne"s stride piano balances jazz with ragtime and blues in a way that’s so old-fashioned it’s refreshingly new. Close your eyes, and it’s like stumbling into a 1940s barrelhouse. Di Anne"s approach to music is shared with "Her Boyfriends" – drummer Tom Lonardo, saxophonist Jim Spake, and bassist Tim Goodwin. "Playing with them makes my back tingle. It’s like making love," Di Anne says.
Di Anne Price "To Hell with Love" (mp3) from "The Best Price" (LocoBop) Buy at LocoBop Digital Music Lab More On This Album